The falling dollar

ferider said:
That's why I mentioned Diesel.

But here in California Hybrids are way more popular than the better TDIs :bang:
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You'll likely see more diesel powered autos in the US once low sulfur diesel is more widely available and when the auto manufacturers can manage to meet or exceed stringent California emission standards. It is interesting to note that European auto emission standards are actually lower than those here.
 
jlw said:
I've said this before, but: The "weak" US dollar is a deliberate US government economic policy designed to discourage Americans from buying imported goods, and to encourage non-Americans to buy goods from the US.

Judging from the posts in this thread, it appears this policy is working perfectly! So you can expect to see more of the same.
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I don't believe for a minute that the weak dollar is a result of any 'deliberate US policy'. Quite on the contrary; representatives of both the US government and some of the largest banks in the world (all american) 'fight like hell' to keep it up.

But the effect is indeed what you point at; that US produced goods will stand a greater chance in the competition against european goods. The large US exporters, from Microsoft to Caterpillar, will prosper from this. In dollars....

The german car manufactorers and their well unionized workers will meet their moment of truth. - So will Leica. So, you see the motivation to keep up the dollar is not only an american consern.

Right now the dollar is 5,84 NOK. It was 6,30 three weeks ago and it was almost 10 NOK five - six years ago. Several observers in the financial markets here in Norway, like my boss, are of the opinion that the dollar's worth NOK 2,00...
 
charjohncarter said:
It was at the National Art Museum Cafe' that is near Nelson Square; $17.00 sandwich and $6.00 beer, that is times two, I let my wife eat too.
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I was about to ask you where the f**k the National Art Museum near Nelson Square is but I presume you are referring to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square? If so, you probably went to the more upmarket café upstairs in the Sainsbury Wing (there is a cheaper café - if it's still there - in the basement of the main building). That said, £8.50 is still taking the piss for a ham sandwich. £3 for the beer is pretty much par for the course (you could pay two or three times that for a beer in Paris!).
 
retow said:
Olsen said:
Every so often americans here complain that Leica's prices are increased. Watch it now! The dollar is record low towards the Euro (the Pound, etc.) - and falling. The Leica managment can only do one thing to compensate for this; increase the prices. Again!


And the weak yen, even as compared to the USD, makes CV and Zeiss highly competitive. Manufacturing in Euroland, and notably in Germany with its 35 working hours a week and 6 weeks of vacation per year, is a challenge for Leica, especially when considering that its most important market is the US.
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Which Germany are you talking of? The one I live in has 40 working hours and most commonly just 5 weeks of paid vacation.
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jlw said:
I've said this before, but: The "weak" US dollar is a deliberate US government economic policy designed to discourage Americans from buying imported goods, and to encourage non-Americans to buy goods from the US.

Judging from the posts in this thread, it appears this policy is working perfectly! So you can expect to see more of the same.
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Borrowing money to fight two wars has certain consequences, like you gotta pay it back,...
Ch may want Tiwan back as well as the $ back...
Noel
 
yoyo22 said:
retow said:
Which Germany are you talking of? The one I live in has 40 working hours and most commonly just 5 weeks of paid vacation.
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I think that France still has a lot of folks working a 35 hour week. At least in Germany you get 5 weeks off. Most companies in the US give you two if you are lucky. I had 5 weeks PTO at my last job, but that included sick time and vacation days.
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ian_watts said:
(you could pay two or three times that for a beer in Paris!).
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This is true i once paid £11 for a Guinness in Paris- it was New Years Eve.

Cafes in central London attractions like the National Gallery are always going to be expensive - but its the same in any big city. You need to know where to go.

In New York for example - our hotel charged $60 for a breakfast that was very poor. The bell boy who brought it to us slipped us a card for a diner around the corner -$7 each - real New York Breakfast - excellent food.

Sometimes you gotta know where to go - or get help from a local (We left him a good tip!)
 
I'm loving the exchange rate now! A couple of years ago the AUD bought about $0.50USD, today it's buying $0.85USD! That translates as such:

before: $500USD = $1000AUD
now: $500USD = $580AUD

Plus I just got a raise, AND the income tax rate just went down again! YIPEEE!
 
The last time we were in Jolly Olde England (December '04), we stayed in a timeshare and did our own grocery shopping and cooking. Despite the pitiful value (about 50p to the dollar at the time) of our American Pesos, groceries were cheaper than back home in Southern California. Tea was of course excellent and practically free; the real surprise was how cheap staples like cheese, bread, and eggs were. We ate for a week for less than a hundred dollars, and that included a lot of condiments, spices, etc. that ended up in the trash barely half-used when we left.
 
sherm said:
yoyo22 said:
How do you survive???????
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It's tough with all the free time to worry about. It used to give us so many headaches, that we had to come up with Aspirin and the Oktoberfest. The rest of the lazy time we spend in the leatherpants outlet store wasting our 13. annual extra salary.
Why do you think the birthrate is down here so much? How could we set children into such an environment?
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Thardy said:
Excuse my confusion. Please could you elaborate how this helps you? I understand if you travel to US or buy US products but in what other way does it help?
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As you said, it helps when buying from the US. So if I wanted to buy a user condition leica m2, a couple of years ago (assuming the USD price didn't change) it would have cost me $1000 AUD, but today it would only cost me $580 AUD, which i less, and therefore, better.

Of course, other consequences are that for the USD to fall relative to the AUD, it means that Australian interest rates must be rising (or more accurately, that the difference between the US and Australian interests rates is getting greater), of course I would care if I had a mortgage or other loan, but I don't as yet.

Or did I screw up and is my maths wrong?
 
yoyo22 said:
retow said:
Which Germany are you talking of? The one I live in has 40 working hours and most commonly just 5 weeks of paid vacation.
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I have never stated that germans have 35 hours working hours and 6 weeks holiday. You have copied that sentense from somebody else!

I know fully well that 5 weeks is the typical in Germany and a tough 40 hours week is typical too. To what I know germans are pritty hard working and -relatively- low payed. A german teacher earns about half of what a norwegian teacher earns. And so on.

But relative to americans, germans have experienced a steady growth of net purchasing power in recent years, while the lower middle class and working class americans have seen a fall. And they have no holiday regulated by law. The recent rize of the Euro to the dollar makes german salaries even more worth compared to similar american ones.
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skibeerr said:
How many minutes do you have to work to buy one roll of 35mm Illford pan f plus 50?

Me in Belgium 25 minutes.
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Personally, 16 minutes. Average Ole Normann (John Doe in Norwegian 🙂) about 20 minutes. (Surprisingly little actually, I always regarded film as expensive here in Norway).
 
EmilGil said:
Personally, 16 minutes. Average Ole Normann (John Doe in Norwegian 🙂) about 20 minutes. (Surprisingly little actually, I always regarded film as expensive here in Norway).
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- How much does it cost?
 
Silva Lining said:
In the UK -

PAN F £1.89 from 7DayShop

I have to work for 3 minutes.

Someone on average UK salary would need to work for 9 minutes.
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Wow, is that £300/ day ( $600 ) ? Now that is what I call a good job...
 
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